Everest Bank and Machhapuchhre Bank have both opened fiscal year 2083/84 in Nepal with higher first-quarter profits, according to separate reports published on October 31, 2026. Everest Bank earned a profit of Rs 125.27 million in the quarter, a rise of 6.23 percent from Rs 117.92 million a year earlier, while Machhapuchhre Bank's profit climbed 22.30 percent to Rs 55.11 million from Rs 41.79 million over the same period. The paired results, carried by Rajdhani Daily, show two commercial banks moving in the same direction for different reasons, with provisioning relief playing a central role in both cases.

Everest Bank: provisions cushion a dip in interest income

Everest Bank's quarterly profit rose 6.23 percent to Rs 125.27 million, up from Rs 117.92 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. The increase came despite a decline in the bank's net interest income, the difference between what a bank earns on its lending and what it pays out on deposits and borrowings. With that core earnings line weakening year-on-year, the decisive factor behind the higher bottom line was lower provisioning, the amount a bank sets aside to cover potential loan losses.

Provisions are treated as an expense in a bank's accounts, so when a bank needs to set aside less than it did a year earlier, the saving flows directly into reported profit. For Everest Bank, that saving was large enough to more than offset the fall in net interest income and lift the quarterly figure by roughly Rs 7.35 million compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

Key figures from the report:

  • Profit: Rs 125.27 million, against Rs 117.92 million a year earlier
  • Growth rate: 6.23 percent year-on-year
  • Main driver: lower provisioning, which offset a decline in net interest income

Provisioning measured at the end of Asoj

Both banks reported their provisioning figures as of the end of Asoj, the final month of the first quarter in the Nepali fiscal calendar, which runs from Shrawan to Asoj. That timing means the provisioning numbers reflect each bank's position at the close of the quarter rather than an average across the three months. Because provisioning can swing a bank's reported profit significantly from one quarter to the next, the Asoj endpoint provides a fixed reference point for comparing the two sets of results.

Machhapuchhre Bank: stronger core income lifts profit by a fifth

Machhapuchhre Bank delivered the sharper growth of the two, with first-quarter profit climbing 22.30 percent to Rs 55.11 million from Rs 41.79 million a year earlier. Unlike Everest Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank did not have to rely on a single lever. Its net interest income rose during the quarter even as its provisioning fell, meaning both the core lending business and the credit-cost line moved in the bank's favour at the same time.

That combination matters because net interest income is the primary engine of earnings for Nepali commercial banks. An increase on that front, reinforced by a lighter provisioning burden, indicates broad-based improvement in the quarter rather than growth driven by one item alone.

Key figures from the report:

  • Profit: Rs 55.11 million, against Rs 41.79 million a year earlier
  • Growth rate: 22.30 percent year-on-year
  • Drivers: higher net interest income combined with lower provisioning

Faster growth from a smaller base

Machhapuchhre Bank's percentage gain far outpaced Everest Bank's, but it came from a smaller starting point. Even after the 22.30 percent jump, its quarterly profit of Rs 55.11 million remains less than half of Everest Bank's Rs 125.27 million. Percentage growth rates from a lower base tend to look steeper, since each additional rupee of profit carries more weight, and the two banks' results are best read with that difference in scale in mind.

Same direction, different routes

Read together, the two reports, published in Rajdhani Daily, describe a first quarter in which both banks finished more profitable than a year earlier, but through noticeably different compositions. Everest Bank's growth was defensive in character: with net interest income lower, the bank leaned on reduced provisioning to lift its bottom line. Machhapuchhre Bank's growth was broader, with higher net interest income and lower provisioning each contributing to the final figure.

The common thread between the two results is provisioning relief, which appears in both sets of accounts as a support to earnings. The reports were published on October 31, 2026, shortly after the quarter closed, giving an early read on how the two banks have begun the new fiscal year.

What the remaining quarters will show

The first-quarter numbers settle one question and leave others open. They confirm that both banks entered fiscal year 2083/84 with growing profits, with Everest Bank holding its position as the larger earner in absolute terms and Machhapuchhre Bank posting the faster growth rate.

What the figures do not yet show is whether Everest Bank's net interest income will recover over the remaining three quarters, or whether Machhapuchhre Bank can keep the twin supports of higher interest income and lower provisioning running in tandem. The answers will shape whether the banks' full-year results follow the pattern set between Shrawan and Asoj. For now, the published reports give the two banks a profitable start to the year, with their provisioning positions, measured as of the end of Asoj, providing the clearest common link between the two sets of results.